朝鲜人民军空军

Q: Which fighter jets does North Korea fly?

The most capable are a few dozen MiG-29s (18 in the IISS count, 35 in FlightGlobal’s), 56 MiG-23s and some 34–38 Su-25 attack aircraft, all delivered by the Soviet Union in the 1980s. The rest are older: MiG-21s, Chinese F-7s, F-6s (MiG-19 copies) and F-5s (MiG-17 copies).

조선인민군 공군 · 조선인민군 항공 및 반항공군

The Korean People’s Army Air Force is North Korea’s air arm: dated by Pyongyang to November 1945, wiped out within two months of invading the South in 1950, rebuilt with Soviet and Chinese jets, and today a large but largely obsolete force — about 550 combat aircraft in the IISS count quoted by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, only a few dozen of them MiG-29s and Su-25s — that since 2023 has added copied drones, a home-built Il-76 radar plane and, in Kim Jong Un’s words of November 2025, a role in "the nuclear war deterrent".

国家标志A red star on a white disc inside red and blue rings

333战斗机

11现役空军基地

1945创立

10已退役的类型

国家北朝鲜创立1945地位积极的总部Pyongyang指挥官Kim Kwang-hyok

故事

The Korean People’s Army Air Force story: destroyed in 1950, pilots sent to Vietnam and a nuclear role

1945–1950: from a flying society to an air force

North Korea dates its air force to November 1945, the month of the 80th anniversary Kim Jong Un marked at Wonsan in 2025. What existed then was a "Korean Aviation Society" organised on the Soviet flying-club model, according to Wikipedia’s account; it became an aviation division of the Korean People’s Army in 1946 and, in November 1948, a branch of the armed forces in its own right. Korean Wikipedia dates the reorganisation as the Korean People’s Army Air Force to 20 August 1947. The aircraft were Soviet: piston-engined Yak-9 fighters and Il-10 attack aircraft, 93 Il-10s and trainer variants in all by Wikipedia’s count. The pilots were the weakness. Soviet reports from May 1950, as quoted by the historian Douglas Dildy and cited by Wikipedia, counted only 32 of 120 pilots as fit for combat.

1950–1953: destroyed in weeks, rebuilt behind MiG Alley

The air force flew in support of the invasion of the South from 25 June 1950 and was used up almost at once. Soviet sources cited by Wikipedia say it had stopped operating by 10 August and was finished off by a US Navy strike on 22 August; Wikipedia, drawing on Dildy, credits it with only three US aircraft shot down in air combat, a B-29, an L-4 and an L-5. The jet war that followed was mostly fought by others. The Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps flew MiG-15s from Manchuria from 1 November 1950, officially never in the war, alongside the Chinese air force; North Korean units trained on the MiG-15 and flew within a joint command. Claims from that war still do not agree: US Sabre pilots claimed 792 MiGs for 78 Sabres lost, and the Soviet corps claimed 1,097 UN aircraft.

1953–1973: Soviet and Chinese jets, and pilots sent abroad

After the armistice of 27 July 1953, which ended the fighting without a peace treaty, the air force rebuilt. GlobalSecurity, summarising older US sources, records MiG-19s and the first surface-to-air missiles in 1961–62 and MiG-21s after 1965; China supplied licence-built copies, and the J-5, J-6 and J-7 families still make up much of the inventory. North Korea also sent its pilots abroad. From late 1966 two MiG-17 companies and one MiG-21 company served in North Vietnam: the historian Merle Pribbenow counts 87 air force personnel there between 1967 and early 1969, who claimed 26 American aircraft and lost 14 men. In 1973 a MiG-21 unit went to Bir Arida in Egypt, and met Israeli F-4s.

Defectors, spy planes and a force built to hide

The air force has also been a source of defectors. No Kum-sok flew a MiG-15 from Sunan to Kimpo on 21 September 1953, two months after the armistice, and was paid the $100,000 the United States had offered for one. Lee Ung-pyong landed a MiG-19 at Suwon on 25 February 1983, and Wikipedia lists further defections with Chinese-built fighters in 1960 and 1996. The most serious Cold War clash came on 15 April 1969, when North Korean MiG-21s shot down a US Navy EC-121M reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 aboard; Pyongyang said it had intruded into its airspace, Washington that it was in international airspace. The force was built to survive a first strike: according to GlobalSecurity’s summary of US sources, much of it is dispersed, hardened or underground.

1990–2022: a large air force that stopped growing

The last new combat types were Soviet: MiG-23s, Su-25s and a small number of MiG-29s delivered in the late 1980s. After the Soviet Union collapsed the fleet stopped growing and began to age. Japan’s 2025 Defense White Paper, citing the IISS, counts about 550 combat aircraft and calls most of them obsolete Chinese or Soviet types; South Korea’s 2010 Defence White Paper had counted about 920. Estimates for the MiG-29 fleet run from 18 (IISS, via Japan) to 35 (FlightGlobal, via Wikipedia). The IISS observed in 2020 that Kim Jong Un’s personal attention could not by itself meet the need to recapitalise the combat fleet. What did arrive came around sanctions: Wikipedia’s sources record MD 500 helicopters and New Zealand-built P-750 light aircraft obtained illegally. In September 2016 Wonsan staged the country’s first international air festival, with MiG-29s and Su-25s flying for foreign visitors.

2023–2026: drones, a radar plane, Russia and a nuclear role

Since 2023 the air force has changed faster than at any time since the 1980s. In July 2023, with Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, North Korea showed the Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9, near copies of the US Global Hawk and Reaper drones. Kim Jong Un toured the Su-35 and Su-57 factory at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in September 2023. An Il-76 fitted with a triangular fixed radome, first seen on satellite images in late 2023, was shown flying in March 2025 as an airborne early warning aircraft. In December 2024 the US Indo-Pacific commander said Russia would supply MiG-29s and Su-27s in return for North Korean troops; no delivery had been confirmed in the sources checked by September 2026. On 28 November 2025 Kim told the air force it would receive "new strategic military assets" and a role in nuclear deterrence.

The air force flew in support of the invasion of the South from 25 June 1950 and was used up almost at once.Korean People’s Army Air Force · verified 2026-09-30

一览

The Korean People’s Army Air Force in numbers

服务

本地名称: 조선인민군 공군Chosŏn inmin’gun konggun, "Korean People’s Army Air Force". From about 2012 the service was styled 조선인민군 항공 및 반항공군 (Air and Anti-Air Force); English Wikipedia, citing South Korea’s 2022 Defence White Paper, says the shorter name returned in April 2022, while Korean Wikipedia still uses the longer one. KCNA’s November 2025 reports speak simply of the Air Force
创立: November 1945 (North Korean dating)Pyongyang marked the 80th anniversary on 28 November 2025. The Korean Aviation Society of 1945 became an aviation division of the army in 1946; Korean Wikipedia dates the Korean People’s Army Air Force to 20 August 1947, and it became a separate branch in November 1948
一部分: Korean People’s ArmyOne of the services of the Korean People’s Army under the Supreme Commander, Kim Jong Un. It also runs the national air defence network of guns and surface-to-air missiles
总部: PyongyangLocation of the command headquarters as given by Wikipedia; North Korea publishes no organisational detail
指挥官: Gen. Kim Kwang-hyok (last reported)Promoted general on 14 April 2022; appointment date not published, and his continuation in 2026 not confirmed
组织: Regional air commands and air divisionsIn 1992 three regional air combat commands (north-west, north-east and south), by 1996 six air divisions under the national air command, according to GlobalSecurity’s summary of older US sources; no current organisation has been published

力量

人员

About 110,000 (estimate)South Korean Defence White Paper figure (2010 edition) as cited by Korean Wikipedia and the figure used by English Wikipedia; GlobalSecurity gives about 70,000 for 1992. The 2022 and later South Korean white papers could not be read (the ministry site blocks automated access)

战斗机

About 550 in all (IISS, cited by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, 2025)
MiG-29 — 18–35 (estimates differ)
MiG-23 — 56
Su-25 — 34–38
MiG-21, J-7, J-6, J-5 and Su-7 — several hundred older types
H-5 (Il-28) bombers — about 80

All figures are foreign estimates. South Korea’s 2010 white paper counted about 920 combat aircraft and the US Department of Defense 730 in 2012; the lower modern figure reflects retirements and a different counting method as much as real change

运输和特殊任务

An-2 — about 270 or more (estimate)
Il-76 airborne early warning conversion — 1
P-750 XSTOL — 3, imported in breach of sanctions

The An-2s are meant to carry special forces; Japan’s white paper notes the fleet as obsolete

直升机

Mi-2 and Harbin Z-5 — about 48 each
MD 500 — about 84, obtained illegally in the 1980s
Mi-8/Mi-17, Mi-24, Mi-14 and Mi-26 — small numbers

IISS Military Balance 2024 as tabulated by Wikipedia; South Korea’s 2010 white paper counted about 300 helicopters

教练

FT-5 (JJ-5) — about 135
FT-2 (MiG-15UTI) — about 30

Figures as tabulated by Wikipedia from the IISS. Pilots are reported to fly far less than Western pilots; no published figure was verified

无人机

Saetbyol-4 (Global Hawk look-alike)
Saetbyol-9 (Reaper look-alike)
Kamikaze drones ordered into mass production, November 2024

Numbers unknown. Which service operates each drone type is not published. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said in June 2025 that Russia had agreed to help North Korea build Geran (Shahed-type) drones; not confirmed by either government

基础设施

空军基地

Sunan (Pyongyang) — shared with the international airport
Sunchon — MiG-29 and Su-25
Wonsan Kalma — 80th anniversary display, 2025
Kaechon, Hwangju, Koksan, Onchon, Uiju, Samjiyon and others

Named in reporting on the 2020 Sunchon inspection, the 2025 anniversary and a 2013 base map published by The Aviationist; no official list exists

Underground and hardened shelters

Extensive (US assessment)"The DPRK houses a large percentage of its military industries, aircraft hangars, repair facilities, ammunition, fuel stores, and even air defense missiles underground or in hardened shelters" — GlobalSecurity’s summary of US sources; details are for the stations page

防空

S-75, S-125, S-200 and home-built Pongae-5 and Pyoljji-1-2The Soviet-era systems remain the backbone; 38 North found no substantial evidence of wide deployment of the newer systems by July 2024

Air shows

One international festival, 2016The Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival was held at Kalma in September 2016; the 2017 edition was cancelled

结构

How the Korean People’s Army Air Force is organised

An air force command in Pyongyang under the Supreme Commander, Kim Jong Un, which also runs the national air defence network. North Korea publishes no organisation: the three regional air combat commands and six air divisions given here come from older US sources for 1992 and 1996, as summarised by GlobalSecurity. According to the same sources, much of the force is dispersed, hardened or underground. The Korean War ended with the armistice of 27 July 1953, not a peace treaty.

General (taejang)Kim Kwang-hyokCommander of the Korean People’s Army Air Force

朝鲜人民军空军조선인민군 공군

总部

Air force command

조선인민군 공군

Pyongyang

In Pyongyang, as given by Wikipedia; the air force is one of the services of the Korean People’s Army under the Supreme Commander, Kim Jong Un, and also runs the national air defence network. Gen. Kim Kwang-hyok is the last reported commander, promoted general on 14 April 2022; North Korea does not publish its command appointments.

North-west

First Air Combat Command

Kaechon

Reported headquarters at Kaechon, according to GlobalSecurity’s summary of older US sources, which describe three regional air combat commands in 1992; no current organisation has been published.

North-east

Second Air Combat Command

Toksan

Reported headquarters at Toksan on the east coast, on the same older US sources.

南

Third Air Combat Command

Hwangju

Reported headquarters at Hwangju, facing the demilitarised zone, on the same older US sources.

运输和培训

Transport and training divisions

Sondok and Orang

English Wikipedia’s organisation table places a transport division headquarters at Sondok, Hamhung’s airport, and describes the Eighth Air Division at Orang, reported by GlobalSecurity, as a training division.

防空

Air defence network

The Soviet-era S-75, S-125 and S-200 missiles remain the backbone; 38 North found no substantial evidence of wide deployment of the home-built Pongae-5 and Pyoljji-1-2 by July 2024.

在服役

What the Korean People’s Army Air Force flies today

每种收费类型都链接到其在《野兽之书》中的页面（如果存在）。. 统计的是登记在册的飞机数量，而不是某一天可用的飞机数量。.

类型	角色	在服役	自从	笔记
米格-29“支点”在服役	空中优势战斗机		1989	Estimates differ: 18 (IISS, cited in Japan’s 2025 Defense White Paper) or 35 (FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2023, cited by Wikipedia).
苏霍伊 Su-25K/UBK 蛙足在服役	地面攻击			34 in the IISS Military Balance 2024 as tabulated by Wikipedia; about 38 according to FlightGlobal, cited by The War Zone in December 2025.
米高扬·古列维奇 MiG-23ML/MF 鞭打者在服役	战斗机	56		56 in both the IISS figure cited by Japan’s Ministry of Defense (2025) and Wikipedia’s table.
米高扬-古列维奇 MiG-21F/PFM/bis Fishbed在服役	战斗机	26		26 in Wikipedia’s table (IISS 2024). Wikipedia’s MiG-21 operators list says at least 200 were delivered over the years, including 30 built in China.
成都F-7（歼-7）在服役	战斗机	30		30 in Wikipedia’s table (IISS 2024).
沈阳F-6（歼-6）和米格-19“农夫”战斗机在服役	战斗机	97	1961	97 F-6 in Wikipedia’s table (IISS 2024).
沉阳 F-5 (J-5) 和米高扬-古列维奇 MiG-17 Fresco在服役	战斗机	106		106 F-5 fighters in Wikipedia’s table (IISS 2024), plus about 135 FT-5 trainers.
苏霍伊 Su-7BMK 装配工在服役	战斗轰炸机	18		18 in Wikipedia’s table (IISS 2024); whether any still fly is not known.
哈尔滨 H-5 和伊留申 Il-28 Beagle在服役	轻型轰炸机	80		About 80 in Wikipedia’s table (IISS 2024).
Ilyushin Il-76 airborne early warning conversion在服役	空中预警	1	2025	One known airframe.
安东诺夫 An-2 小马在服役	Light transport, special forces insertion			About 270 or more in Wikipedia’s table; a foreign estimate, and many may be Chinese-built Y-5s.
Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL在服役	公用运输	3	2016	3 in Wikipedia’s table.
米-8/米-17“河马”在服役	运输直升机			Wikipedia’s table gives a figure under 50; not independently confirmed.
米尔米-24雌鹿在服役	攻击直升机	20		About 20 in Wikipedia’s table.
Mil Mi-2 and Harbin Z-5 (Mi-4)在服役	轻型和通用直升机			About 48 of each in Wikipedia’s table.
Hughes/MD Helicopters MD 500在服役	轻型直升机	84		84 in Wikipedia’s table, which cites War Is Boring (2017) for how they were smuggled in.
Saetbyol-4 and Saetbyol-9 drones在服役	Reconnaissance and strike drones		2023	未知数字。.
米高扬-古列维奇 MiG-15 和 FT-2 (MiG-15UTI)在服役	Fighter, later trainer	30	1950	About 30 FT-2 and a few MiG-15UTI trainers remain in Wikipedia’s table; the fighters are retired.

F-5 (J-5)106

F-697

MD 50084

H-580

米格-2356

F-730

米格-1530

米格-2126

已下单

	类型	已订购	首批交付	笔记
	Mikoyan MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27 (reported Russian transfer)已下单			Not a confirmed order. Adm. 更多的 Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in December 2024 that Russia would give North Korea MiG-29s and Su-27s in return for troops sent to fight Ukraine. Neither government confirmed it, and no delivery had been reported in the sources checked by September 2026.

以前运营

Every type the Korean People’s Army Air Force has retired

10 types, from the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa and Tachikawa Ki-54 to the Ilyushin Il-10 Beast. 峰值数字是指飞机在整个服役期内接收的机身数量，而不是任何某一天的机队规模。.

类型	角色	顶峰	已上菜	被替换为	笔记
伊留申伊尔-10野兽	地面攻击	93		米格-15、伊尔-28	93 Il-10s and UIl-10 trainers delivered in the late 1940s (Wikipedia).
雅科夫列夫 Yak-9 弗兰克	战斗机			米格-15
波利卡尔波夫Po-2	Trainer and night harassment
图波列夫 Tu-2	轰炸机			伊尔-28
Lavochkin La-9 and La-11	战斗机
雅科夫列夫 Yak-11 和 Yak-18	教练
Aero L-39 信天翁	喷气式教练机
南昌A-5	地面攻击
中岛 Ki-43 隼和立川 Ki-54	Ex-Japanese aircraft		1945年—
米-1和米-4	直升机			Mi-8, Z-5

空军基地

Where the Korean People’s Army Air Force flies from

黑色的标记代表正在使用的基地，空心的标记代表已经关闭的机场。. North Korea publishes no aeronautical information publication that could be reached, and the only published positions are not reliable enough to use, so none of the 12 airfields listed here has a pin. Wonsan Kalma, the base most outsiders have seen, held the 2016 air festival and the 80th anniversary display of November 2025; Mirim in Pyongyang is now a parade training ground. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.

活跃空军基地关闭或预订点击图钉即可打开基础页面

根据	国际民航组织	地位	部队和飞机
HwangjuNorth Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-bukto)		积极的	Fighter regiment: MiG-21 (reported)
KaechonSouth Pyongan Province (P’yŏngan-namdo)		积极的	1st Flight Brigade (Korean People’s Army Air Force): MiG-19 / Shenyang F-6
OrangNorth Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏng-bukto)	ZKHM	积极的
PukchangSouth Pyongan Province (P’yŏngan-namdo)		积极的	Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 447: MiG-23 Flogger (reported), MiG-29 Fulcrum (reported)
Pyongyang SunanPyongyang International AirportPyongyang	ZKPY	积极的	Il-76 airborne early warning aircraft: Ilyushin Il-76 AEW conversion Korean People’s Army Air Force MiG-15 unit: MiG-15bis
SondokSouth Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏng-namdo)	ZKSD	积极的
SunchonSouth Pyongan Province (P’yŏngan-namdo)	ZKSC	积极的	MiG-29 fighter unit: 米格-29“支点” Su-25 ground-attack unit: Su-25K/UBK Frogfoot
TaetanSouth Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-namdo)		积极的
ToksanEast coast (province not confirmed)		积极的
UijuNorth Pyongan Province (P’yŏngan-bukto)	ZKUJ	积极的	Bomber regiment: Harbin H-5 (Il-28)
元山葛麻机场江原道	ZKWS	积极的	韩国人民军空军表演和周年纪念部队: 米格-29“支点”, 苏-25“蛙足”, 米格-21bis 鱼床, 米格-23“鞭挞者”, Mi-8T髋关节, 休斯/MD 500E 美国海军陆战队第1航空联队第12海军陆战队航空大队: F4U 海盗式战斗机
MirimPyongyang		关闭	US Air Force (as K-24)

没有找到符合搜索结果的空军基地。.

战斗序列

Who is stationed where in the Korean People’s Army Air Force

Flying units by base, current units first, as far as they are known. Unit designations are rarely published: most entries name only the aircraft seen or reported at a base, such as the MiG-29s and Su-25s shown at Sunchon in 2020 and the H-5 bombers reported back at Uiju in August 2024. American units that flew from North Korean fields in 1950 are listed too, each marked as such.

元山葛麻机场 · ZKWS韩国人民军空军；驻扎部队未由任何官方或可靠来源公布

韩国人民军空军表演和周年纪念部队空军部队（未指明）·现役: 米格-29“支点”, 苏-25“蛙足”, 米格-21bis 鱼床, 米格-23“鞭挞者”, Mi-8T髋关节, 休斯/MD 500E
美国海军陆战队第1航空联队第12海军陆战队航空大队1950–1950: F4U 海盗式战斗机

Pyongyang Sunan (Pyongyang International Airport) · ZKPYKorean People’s Army Air Force and the civil aviation administration; air force headquarters is in Pyongyang

Il-76 airborne early warning aircraftAirborne early warning · active: Ilyushin Il-76 AEW conversion
Korean People’s Army Air Force MiG-15 unit: MiG-15bis

Sunchon · ZKSCKorean People’s Army Air Force; regiment designations not confirmed

MiG-29 fighter unit战斗机部队·现役: 米格-29“支点”
Su-25 ground-attack unitGround-attack unit · active: Su-25K/UBK Frogfoot

Pukchang · Korean People’s Army Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 447

Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 447Air force unit (role not published) · active: MiG-23 Flogger (reported), MiG-29 Fulcrum (reported)

Kaechon · Reported headquarters of the First Air Combat Command, north-west

1st Flight Brigade (Korean People’s Army Air Force): MiG-19 / Shenyang F-6

Hwangju · Reported headquarters of the Third Air Combat Command, south

Fighter regiment战斗机团·现役: MiG-21 (reported)

Uiju · ZKUJ朝鲜人民军空军

Bomber regimentLight bomber regiment · active: Harbin H-5 (Il-28)

没有符合搜索条件的单位。.

时间线

Korean People’s Army Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1945

November: the Korean Aviation Society is formed; North Korea dates its air force to this month.

1947

20 August: reorganised as the Korean People’s Army Air Force, according to Korean Wikipedia.

1948

November: becomes a separate branch of the armed forces.

1950

25 June: flies in support of the invasion of the South. By 22 August it has ceased to exist as a fighting force, according to Soviet sources. 1 November: Soviet MiG-15s enter the war.

1953

27 July: armistice, with no peace treaty. 21 September: No Kum-sok defects to Kimpo in a MiG-15.

1961

MiG-19 fighters and the first surface-to-air missiles arrive (1961–62); MiG-21s follow after 1965.

1966

21 September: North Vietnam accepts North Korean pilots; MiG-17 and MiG-21 companies serve there until early 1969.

1969

15 April: MiG-21s shoot down a US Navy EC-121M over the Sea of Japan; all 31 aboard are killed.

1973

A MiG-21 unit deploys to Bir Arida, Egypt, and meets Israeli F-4s.

1983

25 February: Capt. Lee Ung-pyong lands a MiG-19 at Suwon.

1989

The first MiG-29s arrive from the Soviet Union (year per Wikipedia), after MiG-23s and Su-25s earlier in the 1980s.

2003

March: MiG-29s and a MiG-23 intercept a US RC-135S over the Sea of Japan.

2016

September: the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival, the first and so far only one, at Kalma.

2022

April: the service name returns to Korean People’s Army Air Force (South Korean white paper, via Wikipedia). 14 April: Kim Kwang-hyok promoted general.

2023

27 July: Saetbyol-4 and -9 drones shown to Sergei Shoigu. 15 September: Kim Jong Un tours the Komsomolsk-on-Amur fighter factory.

2024

November: Kim orders mass production of kamikaze drones. December: the US Indo-Pacific commander says Russia will supply MiG-29s and Su-27s.

2025

March: the Il-76 early warning aircraft is shown flying. 15 May: live-fire drills with new air-to-air missiles. 28 November: 80th anniversary at Wonsan Kalma; Kim assigns the air force a nuclear deterrence role.

战斗记录

Every war the Korean People’s Army Air Force has fought

记录中有出击次数和损失的地方都如实记录，没有记录的地方则保持空白。.

5冲突

1950第一的

0飞机失事

14被杀

朝鲜战争 1950–1953 Supported the invasion of the South with piston aircraft, was destroyed by August 1950, then rebuilt on MiG-15s under a joint command with Chinese and Soviet air units
越南战争 1966–1969 Sent fighter pilots and ground crew to fly North Vietnamese MiG-17s and MiG-21s under the Vietnamese Air Defence-Air Force Command
The EC-121 shoot-down 1969 Two MiG-21s intercepted a US Navy EC-121M signals-intelligence aircraft and one shot it down with air-to-air missiles
The Yom Kippur War and after 1973 A North Korean MiG-21 unit based at Bir Arida defended southern Egypt
Drone incursions over South Korea 2022 Five North Korean drones crossed the border on 26 December 2022; one entered the northern edge of the no-fly zone around the South Korean president’s office

打开完整战斗记录

制造商

Who built the Korean People’s Army Air Force fleet

本页上每架飞机背后的公司都有自己的页面：公司的故事、制造的每种机型、数量以及其他使用它们的空军。.

现有船队和订单

米高扬, 米尔, 苏霍伊, 哈尔滨, 伊留申, 沈阳, 安东诺夫, 成都, 休斯, MD直升机公司, 太平洋航空航天公司

前舰队

雅科夫列夫, 沃多乔迪航空, 拉沃奇金, 中岛, 南昌, 波利卡尔波夫, 图波列夫

摘自杂志

Korean People’s Army Air Force news from Afterburner

Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Korean People’s Army Air Force and the aircraft it flies. 此列表会自动刷新——新的 Afterburner 文章将自动显示在此处。.

2026年9月19日North Korea Shows Its Drone Production Lines, Not Just Its DronesRodong Sinmun published photographs of assembly halls building the Saetbyol-4, the Saetbyol-9 and an unnamed attack drone. Pyongyang has…阅读故事 2026年6月11日North Korea’s Ghost Air Force: 900 Aircraft, 25 Flight Hours a YearNorth Korea operates one of the largest air forces in the world on paper. The Korean People’s Army Air Force (KPAAF) fields…阅读故事

《Afterburner》中的所有故事

问答

Everything people ask about the Korean People’s Army Air Force

What is the North Korean air force called in Korean?

조선인민군 공군 (Chosŏn inmin’gun konggun), the Korean People’s Army Air Force. From about 2012 it was styled 조선인민군 항공 및 반항공군, the Air and Anti-Air Force; English Wikipedia, citing South Korea’s 2022 Defence White Paper, says the shorter name returned in April 2022, and KCNA’s reports of the 80th anniversary in November 2025 speak of the Air Force. Korean Wikipedia still uses the longer title, so both appear in current sources.

How many aircraft does the North Korean air force have?

Nobody outside North Korea knows exactly. Japan’s 2025 Defense White Paper, citing the IISS, counts about 550 combat aircraft; South Korea’s 2010 white paper counted about 920, and the US Department of Defense 730 in 2012. On top of that come several hundred An-2 biplanes, helicopters and trainers. Most of the combat fleet is made up of Chinese and Soviet types from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Which fighter jets does North Korea fly?

The most capable are a few dozen 米格-29s (18 in the IISS count, 35 in FlightGlobal’s), 56 米格-23s and some 34–38 苏-25 attack aircraft, all delivered by the Soviet Union in the 1980s. The rest are older: 米格-21s, Chinese F-7s, F-6s (米格-19 copies) and F-5s (米格-17 copies).

Did North Korean pilots fight in the Vietnam War?

Yes. North Vietnam accepted North Korean pilots in September 1966, and two MiG-17 companies and one MiG-21 company served there. The historian Merle Pribbenow counts 87 North Korean air force personnel between 1967 and early 1969; they claimed 26 American aircraft and 14 of them were killed. Their remains were repatriated from Bac Giang province in 2002.

Did North Korean pilots fight Israel?

Yes, in 1973. A North Korean MiG-21 unit was based at Bir Arida in southern Egypt and met Israeli F-4 Phantoms over the Gulf of Suez. According to Israeli accounts retold by The Aviationist, one North Korean MiG-21 was brought down by an Egyptian missile in the confusion. The date of that clash is given as 6 October or 6 December 1973, depending on the source.

Why did North Korea shoot down the EC-121 in 1969?

On 15 April 1969 two North Korean MiG-21s intercepted a US Navy EC-121M reconnaissance aircraft over the Sea of Japan and one shot it down with missiles, killing all 31 aboard. North Korea said the aircraft had intruded deep into its airspace; the US Navy says it was about 80 nautical miles offshore in international airspace. President Nixon answered with a carrier show of force, not an attack.

Have North Korean pilots defected with their aircraft?

Several have. No Kum-sok flew a MiG-15 to Kimpo on 21 September 1953 and received the $100,000 reward the United States had offered; the aircraft is at the National Museum of the US Air Force. Lee Ung-pyong landed a MiG-19 at Suwon on 25 February 1983 and became a South Korean air force officer. Wikipedia lists further defections with Chinese-built fighters in 1960 and 1996.

Does North Korea have an airborne early warning aircraft?

Yes, one is known. It is an Il-76 with a fixed triangular radome, converted at Pyongyang International Airport from late 2023 and shown flying, with Kim Jong Un aboard, in March 2025. Western analysts at The War Zone doubt North Korea can yet use it for full airborne battle management.

Is Russia giving North Korea fighter jets?

The commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, said in December 2024 that Russia would supply MiG-29s and Su-27s in return for North Korean troops sent to fight Ukraine. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang confirmed it, and no delivery had been reported in the sources checked for this page by September 2026. Kim Jong Un did tour the Su-35 and Su-57 factory at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in September 2023.

Does the North Korean air force have nuclear weapons?

Not in a way that has been demonstrated. At the air force’s 80th anniversary on 28 November 2025 Kim Jong Un said it would receive "new strategic military assets" and play a role in "the nuclear war deterrent", and road-mobile cruise missile launchers were shown alongside the aircraft. 38 North’s assessment is that air-delivered nuclear weapons will stay secondary to North Korea’s ballistic and cruise missiles.

继续参观

Read the aircraft the Korean People’s Army Air Force flew

每种类型都在《野兽之书》中占有一席之地，先按服役年份，再按离开舰队的年份。.

米格-29“支点”在服役苏霍伊 Su-25K/UBK 蛙足在服役米高扬·古列维奇 MiG-23ML/MF 鞭打者在服役米高扬-古列维奇 MiG-21F/PFM/bis Fishbed在服役成都F-7（歼-7）在服役沈阳F-6（歼-6）和米格-19“农夫”战斗机在服役沉阳 F-5 (J-5) 和米高扬-古列维奇 MiG-17 Fresco在服役苏霍伊 Su-7BMK 装配工在服役哈尔滨 H-5 和伊留申 Il-28 Beagle在服役米-8/米-17“河马”在服役米尔米-24雌鹿在服役米高扬-古列维奇 MiG-15 和 FT-2 (MiG-15UTI)在服役伊留申伊尔-10野兽雅科夫列夫 Yak-9 弗兰克波利卡尔波夫Po-2图波列夫 Tu-2Aero L-39 信天翁南昌A-5中岛 Ki-43 隼和立川 Ki-541945年—

参考资料及延伸阅读

所有事实均已核实

The World (PRI): Florida man escaped North Korea in a MiG-15 fighter jet (13 March 2015)Interview; $100,000 reward; later name Kenneth Rowe.
Naval History and Heritage Command: H-Gram 029-2, EC-121 shoot-downUS Navy account: MiG-21s, AA-2 Atoll, about 80 nm offshore, Task Force 71.
Wilson Center: Merle Pribbenow, North Korean Pilots in the Skies over Vietnam (1 December 2011)Giap’s approval 21 September 1966; 87 personnel; 26 claims; 14 killed; repatriation 2002.
The Aviationist: An unknown story from the Yom Kippur war (24 June 2013)North Korean MiG-21s at Bir Arida; clash with Israeli F-4s; one MiG lost to an Egyptian SAM.
GlobalSecurity.org: Korean People’s Army Air ForceSummary of US sources: 1948 independence, 1961–62 MiG-19s, 1992 organisation and strength (about 1,620 aircraft, 70,000 people), underground shelters.
IISS Military Balance blog: Haena Jo, North Korea’s air force (February 2020)Kim Jong Un’s attention to the air force does not solve the need to recapitalise the combat fleet (summary only; full text not reachable).
Japan Ministry of Defense: Defense of Japan 2025, Part I Chapter 3 Section 4, Korean Peninsula (Japanese)Figure I-3-4-1, citing The Military Balance 2025: about 550 combat aircraft, MiG-23 x56, MiG-29 x18; most aircraft obsolete; An-2 fleet.
38 North: Tianran Xu, Sparrow Returns to the Peninsula: Observations on North Korea’s May 15 Air Drills (22 May 2025)MiG-29 live-fire with new AAMs; Saetbyol-9 with glide bombs.
38 北：范·H·范·迪彭、新型导弹但发射次数减少、导弹潜艇亮相以及一支拥有核武器的空军（2026 年 1 月 15 日）2025年11月28日，80周年纪念访问；核威慑作用（引自朝中社）。.
38 North: Developments of North Korea’s Land-based Air Defense Systems (July 2024)S-75, S-125, S-200, Pongae-5, Pyoljji-1-2.
The War Zone: Thomas Newdick, North Korea May Be Building An Early-Warning Radar Plane (15 December 2023)Planet Labs imagery of an Air Koryo Il-76 with a radome at Pyongyang.
The War Zone: Joseph Trevithick, First North Korean Airborne Early Warning Jet Flies, Kim Shows Off Interior (26 March 2025)Il-76 AEW with triangular fixed radome shown by state media.
战区：托马斯·纽迪克，《分析朝鲜新型空射制导武器》（2025年12月2日）2025 年 11 月 28 日星期五，元山葛麻基地将举行 80 周年纪念活动；据 FlightGlobal 报道，约有 38 架 Su-25 战斗机参加。.
The War Zone: Thomas Newdick, Russia Giving North Korea MiG-29s And Su-27s Isn’t That Straightforward (10 December 2024)Adm. Paparo’s statement at the Reagan National Defense Forum; fleet described.
The War Zone: Thomas Newdick, Will Russia Trade Fighter Jets For North Korean Artillery Shells? (15 September 2023)Kim Jong Un at KnAAPO, Komsomolsk-on-Amur: Su-35 and Su-57.
The War Zone: Thomas Newdick, North Korea’s Kim Orders Mass Production Of Kamikaze Drones (15 November 2024)Rodong Sinmun report of the tests and the order.
The War Zone: Howard Altman, Russia Giving North Korea Shahed-136 Attack Drone Production Capability: Budanov (9 June 2025)Ukrainian intelligence claim, interview of 7 June 2025.
The War Zone: Thomas Newdick, North Korean Drone Entered No-Fly Zone Over President’s Office In Seoul (5 January 2023)26 December 2022 incursion by five drones.
The War Zone: Thomas Newdick, Drones Penetrate North Korean Air Defenses To Drop Propaganda Leaflets On Pyongyang (11 October 2024)North Korean claim and South Korean JCS response.
The Aviationist: North Korea Debuts New Global Hawk, Reaper Copies (1 August 2023)Saetbyol-4 and -9 shown on 27 July 2023 during Shoigu’s visit.
The Aviationist: Rare photo of North Korean MiG-29 firing an R-60 AAM after Kim Jong Un’s visit to Sunchon Airbase (14 April 2020)MiG-29 and Su-25 at Sunchon.
The Aviationist: David Cenciotti, Here’s the North Korean Air Force order of battle (2 April 2013)Base names on a Galcom map; used only for base names.
航空爱好者：大卫·琴西奥蒂，《朝鲜举办史上首届航展》（2016年9月26日）卡尔马机场有米格-29、苏-25、米格-21bis、米-8T、运-5和四架休斯500E飞机。.
38 North: tag page “Sunchon Airfield”Lists “Sunchon Airfield Renovations Nearing Completion”; describes Sunchon as one of North Korea’s largest military airfields, about 45 km from Pyongyang, after two years of construction. Individual articles could not be retrieved.
The Diplomat: Ankit Panda and Dave Schmerler, When a North Korean Missile Accidentally Hit a North Korean City (3 January 2018)28 April 2017 Hwasong-12 launch from Pukchang airfield (Unit 447, Ryongak-dong, Sunchon City); crash at Tokchon about 39 km away.
38 North: tag page “Uiju Airfield”Lists “North Korea’s Uiju Airfield is back in business” and “Military Airfield Modernization Expands to Uiju”; articles not retrieved.
Federation of American Scientists: North Korean Air ForceAbout seventy air bases, aircraft at twenty to thirty; forward bases Taetan, Nuchon-ni, Kuup-ri; October 1995 redeployment of more than 420 aircraft; hardened, mostly underground shelters.

数据已于 2026 年 9 月 30 日核实。战斗序列页面由单个数据集重新生成；如果此处的数字与《野兽之书》页面不一致，则此页面为两者中较新的页面。.

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Korean People’s Army Air Force